1. Technical Field
This invention relates to a heating apparatus and, more particularly, to an apparatus for removing snow/ice from a roof.
2. Prior Art
During winter time, a substantial amount of snow may accumulate on the roof of a building. Some of the snow on the roof may melt and then freeze to ice along the gutters, forming “ice dams”. As the ice in the gutters or eaves builds up, any water accumulating at the lower portion of the roof may be forced back and up and may get under the shingles of the roof, thereby leading to leaks if the ice is not removed from the roof. It is known to throw salt pellets onto the roof to assist in melting some of the snow or ice from the roof. However, the salt pellets are small and dissolve after only melting a small area at the upper portion of the snow, and thus are ineffective at melting the ice dams formed at the lower or shingle level of the snow and ice on the roof, since the lower layers of ice may be thick and/or may be beneath a substantial amount of snow.
It is also known to place a number of salt pellets into a mesh netting, such as a nylon stocking or the like, and throw the salt pellets and netting onto the roof. Because there is a substantial amount of salt pellets within the mesh netting, all of the salt pellets do not dissolve before they melt a substantial amount of the snow or ice in the area in which they were placed. However, the mesh netting only melts down to the level of the roof and does not melt any ice along the roof, since the mesh netting does not slide along the incline of the roof. Also, after the salt pellets have dissolved, the mesh netting is left on the roof and may clog the eves or the down spouts if not removed.
In some situations, a person may chisel at the snow or ice and/or shovel the snow or ice off the roof manually, either independent of any other ice removal technique or after placing salt pellets onto the roof to melt at least some of the snow and ice. Such an approach is very difficult and dangerous to accomplish because the person shoveling or chiseling the snow must be at or on the rooftop where they may easily slip and fall.
Accordingly, a need remains for an apparatus for removing snow/ice from a roof in order to overcome the above-noted shortcomings. The present invention satisfies such a need by providing a roof heating apparatus that is easily installed, convenient and effective, and eliminates the hazardous task of removing the ice or snow manually. Such an apparatus increases the life span of a roof by ensuring the integrity of the roof shingles is not diminished by the extreme temperatures created by the ice. An individual can either install and remove the apparatus once a year or install it once and leave it on the roof permanently.